Several times in the distant past, catastrophic extinctions have swept the Earth, causing more than half of all species-from single-celled organisms to awe-inspiring behemoths-to suddenly vanish and be replaced by new life forms. Today the rich diversity of life on the Earth is again in grave danger-and the cause is not a sudden cataclysmic event but rather humankind's devastation of the environment. Is life on our planet teetering on the brink of another mass extinction? In this absorbing new book, acclaimed paleontologist ...
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Several times in the distant past, catastrophic extinctions have swept the Earth, causing more than half of all species-from single-celled organisms to awe-inspiring behemoths-to suddenly vanish and be replaced by new life forms. Today the rich diversity of life on the Earth is again in grave danger-and the cause is not a sudden cataclysmic event but rather humankind's devastation of the environment. Is life on our planet teetering on the brink of another mass extinction? In this absorbing new book, acclaimed paleontologist Peter D. Ward answers this daunting question with a resounding yes. Elaborating on and updating Ward's previous work, The End of Evolution, Rivers in Time delves into his newest discoveries. The book presents the gripping tale of the author's investigations into the history of life and death on Earth through a series of expeditions that have brought him ever closer to the truth about mass extinctions, past and future. First describing the three previous mass extinctions-those marking the transition from the Permian to the Triassic periods 245 million years ago, the Triassic to the Jurassic 200 million years ago, and the Cretaceous to the Tertiary 65 million years ago-Ward assesses the present devastation in which countless species are coming to the end of their evolution at the hand of that wandering, potentially destructive force called Homo sapiens. The book takes readers to the Philippine Sea, now eerily empty of life, where only a few decades of catching fish by using dynamite have resulted in eviscerated coral reefs-and a dramatic reduction in the marine life the region can support. Ward travels to Canada's Queen Charlotte Islands to investigate the extinctions that mark the boundary between the Triassic and Jurassic periods. He ventures also into the Karoo desert of southern Africa, where some of Earth's earliest land life emerged from the water and stood poised to develop into mammal form, only to be obliterated during the Permian/Triassic extinction. Rivers of Time provides reason to marvel and mourn, to fear and hope, as it bears stark witness to the urgency of the Earth's present predicament: Ward offers powerful proof that if radical measures are not taken to protect the biodiversity of this planet, much of life as we know it may not survive.
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Add this copy of Rivers in Time: the Search for Clues to Earth's Mass to cart. $3.39, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2001 by Columbia University Press.
Add this copy of Rivers in Time: the Search for Clues to Earth's Mass to cart. $3.39, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2001 by Columbia University Press.
Add this copy of Rivers in Time: the Search for Clues to Earth's Mass to cart. $4.66, good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2001 by Columbia University Press.
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Good. Good condition. Very Good dust jacket. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains.
Add this copy of Rivers in Time: the Search for Clues to Earth's Mass to cart. $4.91, good condition, Sold by Poquette's Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dewitt, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Columbia University Press.
Add this copy of Rivers in Time: the Search for Clues to Earth's Mass to cart. $5.00, good condition, Sold by Bookmans rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Tucson, AZ, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Columbia University Press.
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Add this copy of Rivers in Time: the Search for Clues to Earth's Mass to cart. $18.87, very good condition, Sold by BookDepart rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Shepherdstown, WV, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Columbia University Press.
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UsedVeryGood. Hardcover; light fading, light shelf wear to exterior; former owner's stamp ing on lower page edge; otherwise in very good condition with clean text, f irm binding. Dust jacket, light fading, light shelf wear.
Add this copy of Rivers in Time: the Search for Clues to Earth's Mass to cart. $19.00, like new condition, Sold by Library Market rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Waynesville, OH, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Columbia University Press.
Great general purpose review of earths history and fossil record, past and possible future extinctions, including us. Observations about human extent of induced extinctions was very interesting and also sad. Narrative includes personal observations and trip reports of sites which adds (for me) to the human interest. Not dry university research reading.
